The day had gone downhill from the start. While her dream had been… interesting, to say the least, Marinette had managed to sleep through two different alarms and only woken up on her "last possible resort" alarm, so she slammed open the class door just as the bell rang. Everyone else was already there, of course. Madame Bustier looked at her with the same kind smile as always, but Marinette could tell she was annoyed.
"Marinette, please sit down. We have a lot to cover today, so let's get started."
Marinette quickly slid into her seat. Alya smiled slightly at her, but Marinette couldn't quite bring herself to smile back. Since their return from New York, Alya had swung from extremely encouraging to borderline nasty, and the day before they had argued once again about Lila's trustworthiness.
Of course, Marinette didn't have any proof that Lila was spending the next three weeks delivering hurricane relief to countries in need, but she didn't need any. Anyone who had ever been around Lila knew she would never voluntarily spend time around dirt, mud, or anything else that might sully her Gucci shoes. But Alya had bought into the story, and as a reporter, was hard to convince without proof. And since Marinette couldn't prove anything, she was labeled the bad guy, the jealous stereotype, and the crazy liar who wouldn't stop until everyone believed her. Ironic.
Adrien, on the other hand, had been quite supportive. He hadn't actually said anything during the girls'... discussion, but he had smiled sady at Marinette as she stormed away. She hadn't realized it until after she'd walked several hundred feet away from the school, and it was too late then. She realized also that she'd probably just glared at him - her glares weren't reserved for any one person, she distributed them impartially when the subject of Lila came up - and had locked herself in her room for the rest of the evening.
Which meant that today, Adrien wasn't looking at her, either. Granted, class had already started- Marinette quickly brought her mind back and started to take copious notes.
It was a long day of school. Between not speaking to Alya and Adrien not speaking to her, the only thing making it palatable was the subject material of one class period - Chinese history. At least that was something on which she had some kind of knowledge, so she was less overwhelmed than some other classmates.
Finally, school was done and Marinette was able to leave - ostentatiously ignoring Alya as she did so. She stalked the few feet away from the school entrance, then dropped the pretense and let her shoulders slump.
Who was she kidding? This day was trash. The worst in months, and the only thing that could possibly make it worse was an akuma attack.
Then again, at least she got to hit things during an akuma attack. That wasn't an option for her alter-ego's problems. And she really felt like hitting something today.
The evening passed uneventfully. A full afternoon's homework, ignoring a phone call that might or might not have been Alya trying to restart the argument, and a quiet dinner where both her parents clearly knew something was wrong, but weren't going to bring it up. By the time seven o'clock rolled around, Marinette knew she had to get out and do something. She grabbed her purse - knowing Tikki was phasing into it as she walked - and waved goodbye to her dad, who was finishing the dishes.
"How long do you think you'll be?" he called over the sound of the water.
"Not long. I'm just going to the park. I'll be back soon. I think I just need some space."
He nodded and turned back to the sink. Marinette closed the door quietly behind her.
The night was warm, borderline hot, as she crossed the street to the little park. She didn't understand why her parents were so worried about her going out without letting them know - they could see her through the window, for heaven's sake.
She sat on a bench, watching the light grow dim, until the street lights came on and she finally rose to go. She was just walking toward the street when she heard running feet echoing through the square. There were a few people around, but none of them were moving, or even noticing. The echos distorted the sound and made her look around, trying to find the direction they were coming from. She quietly opened her purse, glancing down at Tikki's wide eyes and nodding.
Then, a figure slipped through a back alleyway and ran under a streetlight. Marinette's eyes widened in surprise - it was Adrien. Strange.
Then Marinette saw a familiar car roll through the other direction, and understood what was happening. Quickly, she ran at an angle that would cause her to intercept Adrien, knowing the car would see them in a few moments. As she glanced back at the car, she misjudged the distance, or missed a few steps in the wrong direction, and crashed into Adrien instead.
"Oof! Sorry!"
He would have answered, but she grabbed him and hauled him to his feet.
"Come on!"
He held her back a few moments as the car pulled up to the curb, and she saw the fear in his eyes. She smiled reassuringly as the car stopped and Nathalie Sancouer emerged from the back seat.
"Adrien! What on earth are you-"
Marinette interrupted with a confused smile.
"Is there something wrong? Did I mess up the time - oh, I'm so sorry!"
Both Adrien and Nathalie stared at her in surprise, so she elaborated.
"When I called you this afternoon? I thought I said the study session- I'm so sorry, did I tell you the wrong time or something? Oh, I'm such a scatterbrain!"
She glanced over at Adrien as she spoke and was glad to see that he, too, had adopted an expression of confusion. Nathalie was still glaring, but not as intensely.
"A… study session?"
"Yeah, for our Chinese History unit. I may be half Chinese, but I'm no good with the different dynasties - I'd get Wang and Tang mixed up if I didn't have help!"
Taking her cue, Adrien interjected.
"Marinette, there is no Wang dynasty. It's the Shang dynasty you're thinking of."
Marinette turned back to Nathalie with a self-deprecating smile.
"See what I mean?"
Nathalie looked very hard at her, and Marinette used every ounce of her concentration to look innocent and confused. Nathalie then sighed and nodded.
"I suppose a study session is… acceptable. Though I did not receive a phone call from you, young lady."
"What? I though I-"
"However, seeing as you are a friend of Adrien's, there is nothing unexceptionable about him coming to help-"
Nathalie broke off into a fit of coughing, and Marinette quickly stopped up to support her. She noticed that the older woman was shaking, and she quickly lowered her into the seat with a smile. Nathalie only looked up after a moment of quiet breathing, and Marinette smiled down.
"I promise, it won't be more than an hour or two. Adrien has his cellphone, so we'll let you know when he needs a ride back, but I really need the help or else I'm going to fail this test! I swear, he'll be just fine."
Nathalie looked up at her once more, this time with a twinge of respect.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng… you never fail to surprise me."
Then she leaned forward and spoke to Adrien.
"I wish you would have communicated with me in person, Adrien, but… well, that's not the main issue. I'll expect you by ten o'clock - you have a busy day tomorrow."
And with that, she closed the door, made a gesture, and the dark car started. It moved away, blending into the night as it went and leaving Adrien and Marinette side by side on the sidewalk.